BlackRock Energy and Resources Income Trust plc (LON:BERI) has announced its latest portfolio update.
All information is at 30 April 2021 and unaudited.
For more information on BlackRock Energy and Resources Income Trust and how to access the opportunities presented by the energy and resources markets, please visit www.blackrock.com/uk/beri
Performance at month end with net income reinvested
| One | Three | Six | One | Three | Five | |
| Month | Months | Months | Year | Years | Years | |
| Net asset value | 4.4% | 15.3% | 45.4% | 67.5% | 38.5% | 91.9% |
| Share price | 6.9% | 27.4% | 63.7% | 99.1% | 45.4% | 96.1% |
Sources: Datastream, BlackRock
| At month end | |
| Net asset value – capital only: | 96.94p |
| Net asset value cum income*: | 97.80p |
| Share price: | 97.40p |
| Discount to NAV (cum income): | 0.4% |
| Net yield: | 4.1% |
| Gearing – cum income: | 9.7% |
| Total assets: | £111.0m |
| Ordinary shares in issue: | 113,470,349 |
| Gearing range (as a % of net assets): | 0-20% |
| Ongoing charges**: | 1.25% |
- Includes net revenue of 0.86p.
** Calculated as a percentage of average net assets and using expenses, excluding any interest costs and excluding taxation for the year ended 30 November 2020.
| Sector Overview | |
| Mining | 49.0% |
| Energy | 28.9% |
| Energy Transition | 22.6% |
| Net Current Liabilities | -0.5% |
| —– | |
| 100.0% | |
| ===== |
| Sector Analysis | % Total Assets^ | Country Analysis | % Total Assets^ | |
| Mining: | ||||
| Diversified | 25.8 | Global | 55.5 | |
| Copper | 7.5 | USA | 17.3 | |
| Industrial Minerals | 4.5 | Latin America | 9.9 | |
| Gold | 3.9 | Canada | 9.2 | |
| Steel | 2.4 | Australia | 2.4 | |
| Diamonds | 1.4 | South Africa | 2.1 | |
| Iron | 1.4 | Germany | 2.0 | |
| Platinum | 1.3 | France | 0.8 | |
| Nickel | 0.8 | Ireland | 0.6 | |
| Subtotal mining: | 49.0 | United Kingdom | 0.5 | |
| Africa | 0.2 | |||
| Energy: | Other Net Liabilities^ | -0.5 | ||
| E&P | 13.9 | |||
| Integrated | 10.5 | —– | ||
| Refining & Marketing | 2.9 | 100.00 | ||
| Distribution | 1.2 | ===== | ||
| Oil Services | 0.4 | |||
| Subtotal Energy: | 28.9 | |||
| Energy Transition: | ||||
| Electrification | 9.4 | |||
| Energy Efficiency | 7.2 | |||
| Renewables | 4.2 | |||
| Transport | 1.0 | |||
| Storage | 0.8 | |||
| Subtotal Energy Transition: | 22.6 | |||
| Net Current Liabilities^ | -0.5 | |||
| —- | ||||
| 100.0 | ||||
| ===== | ||||
^ Total Assets for the purposes of these calculations exclude bank overdrafts, and the net current liabilities figure shown in the tables above therefore exclude bank overdrafts equivalent to 9.2% of the Company’s net asset value.
| Ten Largest Investments | ||
| Company | Region of Risk | % Total Assets |
| Vale | Latin America | |
| Equity | 7.3 | |
| Bond | 2.6 | |
| Rio Tinto | Global | 4.7 |
| BHP | Global | 4.1 |
| Chevron | Global | 4.0 |
| Anglo American | Global | 3.8 |
| Freeport-McMoran | United States | 3.5 |
| Glencore | Global | 3.3 |
| Enel | Global | 3.2 |
| Vestas Wind | Global | 2.9 |
| ConocoPhillips | Global | 2.7 |
Commenting on the markets, Tom Holl and Mark Hume, representing the Investment Manager noted:
The Company’s NAV increased by 4.4% during the month of April (in Sterling terms with dividends reinvested).
Despite clear evidence of accelerating economic activity, there were some concerns early on in the month around Europe’s progress towards Covid-19 lockdowns and also the crisis in India towards the end of the month. In addition, the resurgence of cases in Brazil impacted oil demand for the country and is also further impacting their ability to expand their supply base. Elsewhere, the regulatory announcements from the US pointed to the continued shift towards lower carbon forms of energy. However, these risks are more long dated and do not raise any immediate concerns for oil demand. In other news, it appears that some progress is being made regarding Iran negotiations. This could see restricted sanction barrels coming back to the market if the sanctions are to be reduced by the US. This could in turn lead to a moderate headwind on the oil supply side. Against this backdrop, Brent and WTI (West Texas Intermediate) increased by 6.6% and 9.9%, ending the month at $68/bbl and $65/bbl respectively.
April was a strong month for the mining sector both in absolute terms and relative to broader equity markets. Industrial metals prices saw a rebound, with copper and iron ore (62% fe.) increasing by 11.9% and 13.6% respectively. Demand for steel, copper and aluminium remained strong as China’s rapid economy recovery from the Covid-19 outbreak continues. The Chinese government renewed its efforts to curb steel production in Tangshan, a major steel-producing region in China, looking to reduce its carbon footprint; which contributed to the upward pressure on steel prices. In addition, U.S. President Biden’s proposed $2.25 trillion infrastructure plan contemplates funding road and rail transportation, power grid and telecommunications projects, all of which would likely require vast quantities of steel, aluminium and copper. Moreover, the $174 billion portion assigned to the electric vehicle (EV) industry could give an extra boost to the latter.
Within the energy transition space, President Biden hosted a virtual Leaders’ summit coinciding with Earth Day on 22nd April. The US announced that it will target reducing carbon emissions by 50-52% by 2030 compared to 2005 levels. The US and China also issued a joint statement supporting action on climate change “The United States and China are committed to cooperating with each other and with other countries to tackle the climate crisis, which must be addressed with the seriousness and urgency that it demands”. Elsewhere, the IEA forecast that the number of electric vehicles, including buses, vans and trucks, may reach 145 million by 2030 compared with c.10 million today, but that with policy support globally, could rise to 230 million vehicles.
For more information on BlackRock Energy and Resources Income Trust and how to access the opportunities presented by the energy and resources markets, please visit www.blackrock.com/uk/beri
